The “Blood Can Be Very, Very Bad” mnemonic should be utilized to systematically review any brain CT (Blood, Cisterns, Brain, Ventricles, Vessels, Bone).

The reflex exam is an essential part of the motor exam (especially when the differential diagnosis includes both a polyneuropathy and a myelopathy) as the presence of hyperreflexia will suggest a myelopathy, while hyporeflexia will suggest a polyneuropathy.

In someone with a sudden onset of diminished mental status and bilateral weakness, an acute basilar occlusion must be included in the differential diagnosis.

Both spinal cord compression and a polyneuropathy are frequently heralded by paresthesias, so these processes should always be acknowledged in a patient presenting with bilateral paresthesias.